Trimethylamine (NMe3) is commercially available at purity levels of approximately 99.0 area % (by gas chromatography). See, e.g. Sigma-Aldrich Product Nos. 243205. Applications in the electronics, semiconductor, and photovoltaic industries require higher purity trimethylamine. Impurities present in trimethylamine may include nitrogen (N2), ammonia (NH3), monomethylamine (NH2Me), dimethylamine (NHMe2), water (H2O), and methanol (MeOH). Amarego et al. disclose a couple of methods that may be used to further purify trimethylamine, including using freshly sublimed and ground P2O5 to remove water and impurities containing labile hydrogen (Purification of Laboratory Chemicals, 2009, page 190). The disclosed processes are complex, time consuming and employ the use of materials that are difficult to handle.
A need remains for an efficient method to remove N2, H2O, NH3, and NH2Me from available NMe3 supplies.